Bread & Cup, Sharkys & Seizure

I will never be able to convey on this blog the emotion that Sunday brought.  As I mentioned before I was reading a book "One Thousand Gifts" that I was able to finish last week and then share with Tom's mom.  She is currently reading it now and I've ordered a copy for myself because it was so applicable to where I am now in life.  Anyway, the whole premise of the book is about thankfulness and even when Christ knew He was going to the cross, in the upper room with His disciples prior to His Crucifixion He "...took bread, gave thanks, broke it and said, "This is My body, which is for you.  Do this in remembrance of Me."  I Corinthians 11:24  The author goes into great detail about the Eucharist, the Lord's Supper, and the importance of His "giving thanks".  Before leaving for church yesterday I checked my e-mail and there was a notice from our church back home that communion would be that night.  I was sad to know that Tom and I wouldn't be there to share in it with our church family.  Anyway we walked into church here in Venice and the lights were low and the Communion table was prepared at the front of the church and the lights were flickering off the gold trays and my heart leaped with thanksgiving.  Isn't that just like my God to provide that at just His perfect time!  The service began and so did my tears...my heart was full.  The sermon was titled "Building Strong Lives" and starting with Genesis 1:1 God has pointed us to His Son.  It was a special time.

After church the eight of us went to Sharky's on the beach for a great lunch and time of conversation.  Tom enjoyed his mahi mahi tacos and I really liked my shrimp pita!  Once home Tom took his nap and the rest of us enjoyed pool time.  When Tom came out to the pool after his nap he wasn't "right".  He sat down in a chair and when asked a question he wasn't able to respond.  His eyes didn't look right to me and alarm went off in me.  He couldn't talk at all or make any sense.  We got him inside and I called his surgeon back in Columbus.  The surgeon believes Tom was having a seizure and called in more anti-seizure medication.  My sister-in-law, Cheryl, a nurse who comes to attention and very helpful in situations such as this was very helpful.  My dad "rushed" me to the CVS to pick up the medication and I won't be surprised if he receives a speeding ticket from one of the stop light cameras that are on every light!!  It was more excitement than any of us wanted to have.  Within an hour Tom was getting better and feeling like he was coming out of "it".  His vision was again "altered" and he can't explain it fully because it is hard for him to describe.  Anyway we are thankful he's not in the hospital and that it passed quickly.  Please pray that the medication will keep him from experiencing another situation like this.  We continue to trust God and His leading, guiding and healing hand upon Tom.

Matt arrived home to Columbus last night safely after a couple of Southwest delays.  Zac and Sarah were staying at our house over the weekend while Sarah was in CJ & Jonathan's wedding.  It was good that Matt didn't go home to an empty house.  Zac and Sarah traveled back to Winona Lake, IN this morning.  We praise the Lord for His merciful hand upon our children as they travel.

 

This morning after breakfast Tom and I took a walk around my parent's neighborhood.  God blessed us with His beauty of creation.  I took my camera to capture these special glimpses of God Creator.

Leave New Smyrna Beach Back to Venice

We had an amazing week with Tom's parents at New Smyrna Beach!  Again more of the same sun, sand and surf along with much rest and relaxation.  Tom continues to feel more strength with each day and his naps are getting a little shorter.

We are so thankful for the time together and fun memories we made.  From great conversations under the beach umbrellas, good books, rousing games of UNO, Dominos, & Skip Bo to yummy seafood, ice cream treats (berry smoothie for Tom) and Greek Salad & pizza!  Thanks Pops and Granny for your love for us...we love you!

Matt was the "beast" of the week with hauling our gear to the beach, setting up camp (umbrellas) and having such a servants heart.  He has learned from the best, his dad!  Matt was able to chauffeur Pops and Granny back to Clermont allowing for a stop at the mall to let Granny shop!  He will fly back to Columbus today out of Orlando.  We love you Matt and will miss you for the remainder of our stay.
Tom and I arrived safely back in Venice at Lisa'a parents home.  We are all here...Dad & Mom, Terry & Kelly, and Mike & Cheryl.  We have always had a family vacation, however this will be the first one without any children.  We are looking forward to a great week together starting with worship together this morning.

Happy 46th Anniversary Uncle YT & Aunt Patsy!

What a beautiful couple then and now!  We praise the Lord for your 46 years of faithfulness to each other and to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  You have modeled a Christian marriage beautifully and we pray that the Lord blesses you with many, many more.
Today Tom, Matt & I enjoyed New Smyrna Beach.  It is gorgeous here and not a cloud in the sky as I type this poolside at 7:30 pm.  Matt grilled us chicken and fresh veggies tonight and we ate it by the pool in the breeze of the Atlantic Ocean...delightful. 
Our hearts are heavy as we lift up the Palumbo family.  Caleb Palumbo is Matt's good friend from high school and was also his freshman year roommate at MVNU.  During Matt and Caleb's junior year of HS, Caleb's mom was diagnosed with breast cancer.  Yesterday Caleb text Matt to let him know his mom is now in hospice care.  Barb was at Riverside Hospital during Tom's rehab stay in March and we were blessed to have Mike come and visit us.  Please join with us in lifting this precious family to the Lord as they walk a very difficult journey.  Mike & Barb Palumbo, 4 children:  Caleb (19), Hannah (17), Rachel (15) and Aaron (5).

Happy Father's Day!

Tom and I could not have selected better fathers! We are so thankful God gave us our dads and we want them to know how much we love and appreciate them.

 
Yesterday, June 18th, was my sister and brother-in-law's 28th wedding anniversary.  We wanted to say thank you to them for their love and support through this time in our lives.  We are looking forward to spending time with them here in Florida next week.  What an awesome privilege to share life with them and have them model a christian marriage.  We love you Terry and Kelly!

Yesterday we packed up from our family stay in Venice and headed to Tom's brother's home in Orlando.  Zac and Sarah flew out of Sarasota heading to Williamsburg to spend the week with Zac's family.  Due to bad weather, their flight was delayed which caused them to miss their connecting flight in Atlanta.  They spent the night in Atlanta, guests of AirTran, and arrived in Williamsburg this morning at 10:30!  Young, in love and on an adventure!  Tom, Matt and I enjoyed dinner with Tom's parents, his brother, Terry, his brother Tim and wife, Julie and their son, Timothy.  A wonderful evening together.  I am now typing on a brand new lap top computer, a gift given to Tom from his parents and brother as an "end of radiation" encouragement!  WOW...we are blown away!  THANK YOU!!
This morning we enjoyed a father's day Sunday with Tom's dad revelling in the fact that all three sons were at his side!  After church we were able to have pictures taken to document this special occasion.

Happy Anniversary Terry & Joyce

Where we are staying here in FL we don't have WI-FI at the house so for my blogging I have to head to the pool! So I'm sitting here at the pool on Friday morning realizing how quickly a week can go.  Anne Marie Weakley gave me several books to read while here and the first one I choose is "One Thousand Gifts" by Ann Voskamp and I highly recommend it.  In the book she says a life change is when we receive life with thanks and ask for nothing to change!  We are all taking this vacation to give thanks in all things.  Another quote, "Life is so urgent is necessitates living slow."  We are trying to live slow.  This southwest area of Florida is called "paradise" and we know why, however last night as a family we discussed how discouraged God must get when we consider this earth "paradise"...He must be so excited to show us eternity and the glory of paradise.

Yesterday, June 16th was Tom's brother, Terry & Joyce's wedding anniversary.  We praise the Lord for His hand upon their lives and trust Him to continue to bless their lives and ministry in Bourbonnais, IL at Faith Baptist Church.  We look to them and their faithfulness so often and praise our Lord.  We trust their day was just as special as they are to us and we know then it was great.

The boys played a competitive tennis round.

Pirate Zac & Mermaid Sarah

Fisherman's Wharf

Dinner at the Captain's Table overlooking Charlotte Harbor...amazing!

Yesterday was a great day at Siesta Key Beach, the boys golfed and then met us at the beach then we had an incredible sunset dinner over looking the water.  We are praising our Lord for His amazing grace in allowing us this special time and giving Tom the energy to enjoy it!  Thank You Lord...

Florida Family Fun

We all made it safely to Florida!  We are not stopping long enough to make the blog a priority...but, today we are making it happen!
Sunday, Tom, Lisa & Matt enjoyed worship with Lisa's parents at First Baptist Church of Venice.  What an awesome sermon on marriage God's way!  After church we went to Marker 4 for an outdoor lunch by the water.  A trip to the Jetty then back to Lisa's parent's new home.  What an incredible place they have found to enjoy year-round here in Venice.  Our family is staying in their winter home that is currently on the market.  Tom rested while we enjoyed the pool.  After tucking Tom in bed Sunday night Matt and Lisa went to get groceries for the week.  Zac and Sarah arrived in around 12:45 a.m.

Monday was a relaxing day...sleeping in and catching up.  We all went to the pool in the morning and then back to the house for lunch.  After lunch the boys, Matt & Zac hit the golf course and Tom took his nap.  Sarah and I were at the pool...talking, talking, talking!!  That night we had turkey tacos and then the boys went fishing.  They have quite the alligator tale to tell along with the large mouth bass!  We are thankful they both came home with all their limbs in tact!

Tuesday Lisa's dad took us on an inter coastal boat ride!  The beauty of God's creation is amazing and we all are enjoying taking it in.  The dolphin "Mooch" is a regular on this trip.  We always enjoy getting a close up glimpse of a creation that not many see outside of a zoo or Sea World!  We also spent some time at the beach.  The water temperature is very warm and inviting.  The waves were larger than normal for the gulf.  Things seem very quiet here with all the snow birds back north for the summer.

After being gone all day we decided pizza was the choice for dinner.  Yes, we're breaking a few "rules" for Tom's diet, but overall we are sticking to the healthy plan.  After dinner we played a round of "Up & Down the River" with Tom dominating the competition.
Each day we feel Tom is gaining more strength and stamina.  We know being together as a family and having this time to enjoy each other gives us all a boost.  We are so thankful to YOU for the prayers and support to get us to this place!

Monday, June 12 was our great nephew's 5th birthday...Max!  Happy Birthday, Max...we love you.

And Max's parent's, Hannah and Jason celebrate their anniversary today!  Happy Anniversary Hannah and Jason...we love you too.

We trust God blesses you with many, many healthy, happy years of wedded bliss!

Family Treasures

We are so blessed and honored to have had Tom's brother, Terry and his wife, Joyce, and their two youngest girls, Leah and Cherith with us on Thursday and Friday.

When you have family like ours it's always fun to get together.  They live about an hour south of Chicago and were on their way (out of the way) to their nephew's wedding in Michigan.  Leah and Cherith were able to  spend the day Wednesday at Cedar Point and then head to Akron for Leah to buy a car on Thursday morning!  What an awesome vacation in O-H-I-O and to get to see Uncle Tom and Aunt Lisa too!  Sweet...

Thank you Joyce for the adorable wreath!

This afternoon my sister took me to have my first ever pedicure!  What an amazing treat.  It was so special to spend some time together and catch up on life before heading out of town.

After the pedicure I was ready to leave and Kelly said, "Wait, there's more!" and we had manicures too!  Wow!  I am spoiled.

Fun times together.  Tom and I invited Terry and Kelly over for "a trip through our refrigerator to clean up the leftovers" for dinner.  With leaving for Florida tomorrow we needed help to eat all the food!  It was a great night and our refrigerator is clean!  Our night ended with an amazing round of Hand & Foot.  The boys beat the girls by a smidgen...Boys = 11,965 vs Girls = 11,910!
Thank you for your continued prayers for us.  Tom took his last anti-seizure pill on Thursday!  Woo Hoo...eliminating medication is a thrill at our home.  Tom is feeling a little better each day and we are so thankful that his appetite is coming back!  He continues to be very tired and we pray for strength for our long day Saturday.  Please pray for our traveling mercies on Saturday and then for Zac and Sarah to arrive safely on Sunday.  We can't begin to tell you how excited we are to have this time with our family.  Precious memories will be made and we are so thankful to God for allowing this to happen, for Tom to be feeling well enough to go and for faithful friends and family who have made it all possible!  The next time I post it will be from the shores of Florida!

Thank You Mrs. Quinones!

Neither Tom nor I have ever been to Puerto Rico, but we came close to it tonight!  Yvonne Quinones delivered an authentic Puerto Rican meal to us.  What a delicious treat and honor to be served by a dear lady who knows first hand what cancer means.  Thank you!

The pictures definitely don't do the food justice...

Tonight we had the privilege of enjoying the company of the Weakley family....such entertainment!  What life and energy they bring.  Katherine and Megan sang for us some of the songs they learned this year in school.  Grant is really beginning to talk and was so happy.

We all enjoyed watching Addy, our dog, try to catch another chipmunk she had trapped in our fire pit!  She seriously did not leave the fire pit for 3 hours!!  She is insane when it comes to critters.

We wanted to "shout out" to Jess Meyers "Happy Birthday!" and share a photo from Marmon Valley Farm memories.





Happy Anniversary Mike & Cheryl!

We want to honor my brother and his wife, Mike & Cheryl, today on their 24th wedding anniversary!

What a privilege to stand beside them on that day and then to continue to stand by them through these last 24 years.  We not only consider them family, but also friends and cherished Christ followers.  We trust the Lord to continue to bless the years He gives them, and us, together.

Mike and Cheryl have been such encourager's through this journey with Tom.  We are so thankful to have their, love, support and wisdom.  We love you guys SO much.

Tom was able to go into work this morning for a staff meeting.  I am so thankful that he felt up to it and I know it was good for him to be there.  After arriving home we were eating lunch and our dog, Addy, was barking at something outside.  I went out to find her with a chipmunk cornered behind the air conditioning unit "locked up".  Now if you are familiar with our "bird dog" she loves to hunt.  God created her to hunt birds, but we believe she gets confused sometimes, like today.  We're not sure if she was more nervous or the chipmunk!  After we finished lunch Tom went out to watch the scene.  The chipmunk went under an upturned trash can and I'm sure felt secure...until Tom lifted the trash can, out ran the chipmunk right into Addy's mouth!  Gross...she killed it right away...my heart was broken and Tom made ME go get a shovel and dispose of the dead chipmunk.  I'm not a crier, but I seriously had tears in my eyes...it was so cute.  I told Addy "no more kisses for you!".  Every time I see her I call her chipmunk breath.  After the drama we get in the house and I notice Tom's foot is bleeding!  Through treatment I have noticed Tom's skin is paper thin and smooth.  The dog stepped on his foot and apparently her nails penetrated his delicate skin!  Aren't you glad you read this?  The life and times of the Anglea's!

Graduation 2011

In order to save his energy for the graduation ceremony, Tom did not join Sarah and I at church this morning (Matt was out of town visiting an MVNU friend, Caleb Williams).  We are so thankful he did because by the time we left graduation he was worn out!  What a special honor and privilege to be surrounded by people who know, love and serve Jesus Christ.  The school, students, staff and families, all signed a quilt to present to Tom.

Austin Morgan and Matt Rickly present the quilt to Tom.

A treasure...

We want to especially thank Michele Bolyard and Sandy Blusiewicz for their handiwork on putting this beautiful quilt together!  We are truly amazed at their talent and depth of love put into this piece of art.  Sandy and her husband, Ken, know firsthand what trials life brings.  Their son, Jonathan, went home to be with the Lord his freshman year (January 2010) while attending WCHS.  Even in their grief, they reach out in the name of Christ to encourage others...Thank You, Sandy!

The verse at the top of the quilt is:

"Blessed is a man who endures trials, because when he passes the test he will receive

the crown of life that He has promised to those who love Him."

James 1:12



Baccalaureate, Bridal Shower & Graduation Weekend!

Friday was so nice not having to go to radiation!  We never left the house (except sitting on the back patio) until we went to WCHS' Baccalaureate service.  What a special service honoring a special class.  It was very emotional having Tom close in prayer.  What a long road of recovery we've been down and for him to be able to be there, fully capable and able to pray before a crowd was remarkable.  We give God ALL the glory for what HE has done in Tom's life to bring him to this point.  For 17 years we have had the privilege to have Tom serve as the principal of WCHS and reside over the graduation ceremonies and it felt so right to have him back! 
Sarah came home for the weekend to go to a bridal shower for her good friend, Rachel Wigton.  After enjoying a Saturday morning family breakfast we were able to soak in some sunshine that gave us our vitamin D for the day!  Sarah and I were able to go to the bridal shower while Tom took his afternoon nap and Matt went golfing with friend and neighbor, Sam Coon.

We will look forward to Rachel & Caleb Stertzer's wedding on July 16th.  What a beautiful bride she will be!  It was a wonderful shower.  Not only was Rachel showered with gifts, but I received one too!  Dear friend, Chris Grant blessed me with a brand new bike helmet!  Tom had bought me a new bike last fall, we had just started biking more frequently and we were looking forward to this spring, summer and fall to bike again.  Well...for Valentine's day I had gotten Tom a new bike helmet...and the rest is history.  Chris' husband, Chuck, was in a terrible biking accident in Florida over Spring break and she wanted me to be sure to bike safe...with a helmet!  Thank you Grants!  Chuck is doing well, but still mending from several injuries.  The helmet is an inspiration piece also to encourage us that "one day" Tom and I will be riding our bikes again!!

Celebrate...Radiation OVER!

Today was not much different than the past days of radiation other than it's the LAST ONE!  Our hearts are lighter today and we are so grateful to be through with this phase of Tom's treatment.  It was a great feeling walking away from Riverside Hospital knowing that we, Lord willing, will not be back there for about 5 weeks...Yeah!  This picture captures the "team" who cared for Tom during his radiation treatments.  Gayle is on the far left...she is the one who was there when I was treated in 1989!  As far as the rest of them...they probably weren't even born in 1989!!!

This is Tom's radiation mask!  He wore this during his 30 treatments to make sure his head didn't move during the treatment.  It is customary for the patient to "get" to take it home with them on the last treatment and do something creative with it!  I have an idea that we open the BLOG to suggestions from YOU as to what creative thing we can do with it.  I will post the creative ideas and then the "winner" will be honored here on this blog as we carry out the suggestion.  Ready, Get-Set, Go...you're on with creativity!  Can't wait to hear back from you.
We would be remiss not to say a huge "THANK YOU" for praying us through this time.  BUT...please don't stop...the race is NOT finished and we continue to rely upon you and your prayer support.  We are looking forward to a break (4 weeks) before chemotherpy resumes.  Tom will take a double dose of chemo for 5 days a month for the next 6 months.  Our "real" celebration will take place around Christmas time!
We are looking forward to a family (Tom, Lisa, Matt, Sarah & Zac) vacation in Florida, June 11-18.  Tom, Lisa & Matt will then join Tom's parent's and brother's family in Orlando for Father's Day and then a week at New Smyrna Beach.  Tom and Lisa will then join Lisa's parents, sister, brother-in-law, brother & sister-in-law for a week in Venice, Florida.  We are excited about the opportunity to get away, relax and continued healing for Tom's body.  We are so blessed to be able to be with family who we enjoy vacationing with.  Please continue to check this blog for updates while we're away.